Wind energy supplements gas-fired power on Tampen
The Hywind brand was associated for many years with the single floating wind turbine being tested in the sea west of Karmøy. Originally initiated by Norsk Hydro, this project was brought on line by the merged StatoilHydro company in 2009.
Equinor is pursuing two large pilots in 2022 – Hywind Scotland and its Norwegian relative. The first of these comprises five wind turbines, while Hywind Tampen covers 11 floating units with a combined capacity of 95 megawatts.
Powering offshore installations
The Tampen area of the North Sea lies about 140 kilometres off Norway, and water depths are 260-300 metres where the turbines will be positioned.
These units are intended to provide the five Snorre and Gullfaks platforms with about 35 per cent of their annual electricity needs. That will reduce the use of power from gas turbines on these two fields and eliminate annual emissions totalling 200 000 tonnes of CO2 and 1 000 tonnes of NOx.[REMOVE]Fotnote: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/h61q9gi9/global/59db109a1ab7991e6b7546ef9b161dcfa74ec514.pdf?hywind-tampen-pud-del-II-konsekvensutredning-mars-2019-equinor.pdf
The project was approved in April 2020.[REMOVE]Fotnote: https://www.tu.no/artikler/departementet-godkjenner-utbyggingen-av-hywind-tampen/489691
New opportunities for suppliers
The development decision was taken by the partners on the Snorre[REMOVE]Fotnote: https://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/facts/field/snorre/ and Gullfaks[REMOVE]Fotnote: https://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/facts/field/gullfaks/ fields in October 2019. During that month, they also awarded NOK 5 billion in contracts – subject to government approval of the project.
Enova is contributing up to NOK 2.3 billion in funding to the development, with Norway’s Business Fund for Nitrogen Oxides providing another NOK 566 million in support.
The goal for Hywind Tampen is to contribute to the development of floating wind power technology and reduce the cost of future wind farms. That could help to create new industrial opportunities for the licensees and the Norwegian supplier sector.
Floating concrete structures are among the technologies being tested in the pilot and represent the first time this material has been used on the NCS since Troll. The support columns each stand 107 metres high and will have a common mooring system being delivered by Kværner.
Installation methods are also being tested, along with new and larger turbines. The high point for a rotor tip is no less than 190 metres above sea level, with each of the three blades 81.5 metres long. Delivered by Siemens, the upgraded turbines have a capacity of 8.6 MW apiece. The turbines will be connected in a loop by a 2.5-kilometre power grid with a capacity of 66 kilovolts.
Electricity generated by these turbines will be delivered to nearby oil and gas installations. These supplies must be integrated with the existing gas-fired power generation system on the relevant platforms. When development of this system has been completed and tested, it can hopefully be used with platforms in other locations. That may offer new opportunities for Norway’s supplier industry.[REMOVE]Fotnote: https://www.tu.no/artikler/departementet-godkjenner-utbyggingen-av-hywind-tampen/489691
